Long Tom—
1. a heavy gun of great length:
- I was already sergeant when we made a night attack and captured and blew up Long Tom.
2. (Austral.) a marine fish of the family Belonidae:
- Long Toms have the habit of leaping from the water, when either pursuing or being pursued.
3. a gold-washing cradle:
- “Long Tom” or cradle was a trough filled with earth, into which water flowed; the cradle was rocked, and the gold washed from the earth fell into a tin dish.
4. a particularly high-powered telephoto camera lens:
- Russ, grinning, remembered a Long Tom lens he had seen in the hands of one of the photographers.
Tom Long—said of a lazy, slow man who takes a long time in coming, etc.:
- We are very concerned that many people will be fooled into thinking that they could live with a Tom Long government.